Little Princess
by Fizzy Starburst
Summary: He'd been half awake, eyes shut and heavy with the sleep he desperately needed when he heard the loud wail. She definitely got that from her mother. With a long inhale, Duncan peeled himself off the bed to examine the crib. Oneshot/Future/Possibly AU?


**AN: Wow. First time writing for TDI in like 8 years. So, my sister and I rewatched the original 26 episodes of TDI and we both fell back in love with the show and back in love with a certain pairing, so I whipped this up. Dedicated to my sister, who, in her own words "is not dedicated enough to write a fic for herself"**

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He'd been half awake, eyes shut and heavy with the sleep he desperately needed when he heard the loud wail. She definitely got that from her mother. With a long inhale, Duncan peeled himself off the bed to examine the crib. The six month old with tuffs of thick black hair reached up, eager to be held by her father as she screamed. "C'mere…" he mumbled, picking Sarah up out of crib.

Her cried lessened in intensity as he rocked her back and forth. "Hey…" he whispered "…hey little princess. There's no need for that. Shhhh…"

He noticed, after a few moments, that Sarah had stopped crying, much to his relief. Unfortunately, she still hadn't fallen back asleep. He sighed, before ultimately deciding that sleep tonight was going to have to wait, just like it did the night before. Delicately, he carried his daughter from the bedroom, down the hallway, and then into the living room, before slinking into the old rocking chair his father had supplied when he'd heard they were expecting.

"You know, little princess," he told the child, "I haven't been able to sleep for three nights because of you. You're kind of an asshole." Sarah showed no reaction, which he expected. She was an infant, after all. "But I still love you. Heh. Kinda like your mom." He smiled to himself, before his eyes widened as he quickly added "But that stays between you and me, you got it?"

Sleepily, he continued to rock her back and forth, until eventually the child's hazel eyes fluttered to a close. Now Duncan faced a new problem – he was so tired that he couldn't feel his legs. And really, he'd be content to fall asleep with Sarah in his arms while he napped in the rocking chair, but if he knew her mother, she wouldn't be happy with that at all.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Speak of the devil.

The exhaustion was clear in her voice as she offered "Here, I'll take her."

"I didn't think you were up." Duncan admitted, handing their daughter over to Courtney.

Her sleepy smile wavering, Courtney mumbled "it was my turn to take care of her anyway."

His voice playful, he replied. "You take care of her enough."

Sighing wistfully, she gracefully slunk into the couch next to the rocking chair. Eyes never leaving Sarah, she shook her head. "No I don't. You're here with her all day while I'm at work, and now even when I'm home you're the one staying up. That wasn't the agreement."

"Rules are meant to be broken, Princess." He reassured her. He waited for her to finally look back at him, and as she did a tired smile graced his lips. "Hasn't being married to me taught you anything? We thought we knew what we were doing and we don't. I don't mind taking care of her all the time if it helps you out." He promised.

"I'm her mother, Duncan!" she whined. "I'm supposed to..."

"…you're supposed to love her, and you do." He interrupted. "And you're supposed to take care of her. You do that by going to work and supporting her that way. You're doing your job, all while, you know, doing your real job."

Courtney didn't say anything, which worried him. She wasn't one to be at a loss of words. She sat silently, eyes once again on Sarah. He'd lost track of how long she stayed like that before she wordlessly got off the couch, to lay the little one back into her crib.

Two minutes later, she returned to the living room, standing in the doorway to ask "Are you going to come back to bed?"

Smiling sheepishly, Duncan admitted "I'd love to, but I've kinda lost feeling in my legs."

Rolling her eyes, Courtney walked over to him, chastising him "You are so helpless. What do you do when I'm not around?"

"Are you gonna help me up or not?"

Courtney stood for a minute, tapping her chin pretending to think it over. "Nope." She smiled, shrugging.

Raising his eyebrow, he questioned "Oh really?"

She nodded mutely, moving even closer to him. He watched her, curious as to what was running through her mind, until he could feel her on his lap, cuddling up against him. He sighed, running a hand through her hair "Fine. Have it your way, Princess."

Eyes closed, smiling contently as she snuggled just a little closer into Duncan's chest, she mumbled "I usually do."


End file.
